By Marianna Sofman, James Pelletier, Pedro Perez, and Steve Levine,

If you have ever wanted to become more involved in the SP community, now is your chance!  SP Officer applications are now open! Become and officer and you can:

• Gain leadership experience
• Get guaranteed SP housing in 2014-15
• Get priority on room selection

If that wasn’t enough to convince you, read what some current officers have to say about their experiences in the SP student government:

Marianna Sofman, 1st Floor Hall Councilor

As I neared the end of my first year at MIT, living at SP, like everyone else, I needed to decide the fate of my living situation for the next year. Luckily, this was not a tough decision. My first year at MIT was not only defined by my research experience, classes, and the amazing people in my department, but this was all enhanced by the welcoming community at SP. I loved having a sense of home and family each and every day at SP with my friends and roommate, and I have enjoyed participating and volunteering at all the events that were organized. I knew that one way or another, I not only wanted to stay at SP, but I also wanted to become more involved by contributing more to the vibrant community here. Becoming a hall councilor was a swift and easy decision because frankly, I did not want to move, but I also enjoyed the prospect of the great flexibility that being a hall councilor offered. I felt that in addition to serving as a friend, confidante, and source of advice to incoming residents, I could organize fun events for my residents, further fostering a sense of community. I also like organizing joint hall events so my floor can meet and mingle with other floors- who doesn’t love making friends? More importantly, being a hall councilor allows me to connect with other officers on a regular basis at our dinners, officer meetings, and SP volunteer events. I love my SP family, and I’m looking forward to engaging with them in the future.

James Pelletier, Social Chair

I have very much enjoyed the social co-chair experience. As social co-chair, I dressed up as Guy Fieri and guests threw playing cards into watermelon halves; learned some salsa from the MIT Ballroom Dance Team; dressed up as a nucleus, with a big transparent garbage bag full of red and blue balloons; will purchase several hundred pounds of corn starch to make a small pool full of a liquid on which people can dance. Wow – I now realize several of the social events we organized gave me a chance to wear absurd costumes! But the point is, as a member of the SP House Government, you will have many opportunities and a budget to do what you enjoy and share it with the MIT community! I had not before planned, publicized, or registered large events; interacted with MIT EHS, MIT Police, City of Cambridge, and various other groups; submitted reimbursements; or ordered food for hundreds of people – all these were great learning experiences. Above all, I feel thankful for the enthusiasm and generosity of the SP Helpers and SP Community.

Pedro Perez, Aquarium Chair

Generally speaking, people become residential officers for three perks: 1) interacting more closely with fellow students, 2) improving their living environment, and 3) integrating better within the larger MIT community. Well not this guy right here:

In fact, my initial motivation to become the Aquarium Chair was to secure housing. Well that, and being able to work with fish, which I have a long-standing passion for. Unfortunately, I had to partake in the aforementioned “perks”. It was truly awful, I had to plan and attend free-of-charge trips for Whale Watching and the New England Aquarium. To make matters worse, I had to take a group of people with me and socialize with them. I even became friends with some of them, the horror. In addition, thanks to SP-sponsored officer events, I met some dudes, formed a band, and have been playing all over campus in different music showcases for the past year. We even had an event with over 200 people, what a snore. Finally, thanks to being an officer, I get constantly invited to community events by other officers. Just the past few weeks, I’ve had to drink free beer from a brewery, go salsa dancing, and play in an intramural basketball team that made it to the playoffs. So unless you’re willing to put up with having an interactive social life, attending unique events all over the city, and learning about neat hobbies from your fellow colleagues I highly advise you against becoming a Sidney Pacific Officer. It is truly not worth it 😉

Steve Levine, Publicity Chair

I was at first extremely hesitant about becoming an SP officer. Would I have the time? I don’t know the other officers well, would I fit in? Would it actually be fun? But now, I can say with certainty that it’s easily been one of the best decisions I’ve made since living here. It’s gotten me so much more involved, and made SP feel like so much more than just four walls and a bed. Since becoming an officer, I started meeting many of the awesome people living right here in this same building.  I started volunteering at a lot more events, such as brunches, CoSI lectures, and coffee hours (a lot of fun by the way!). It’s that sense of involvement – of making SP partly your own through service – that I find the most gratifying about being an officer. And to me at least, it really matters. In grad school especially, I find it’s way too easy to ignore a crucial aspect of living life – branching out and meeting people. Becoming an officer and being generally active around SP has allowed me to do that fantastically. Plus, I do something I enjoy as a publicity chair – computer graphic design (I help make many of the elevator posters. And sometimes I make giant displays for the lobby, or even slides for the infinite corridor projectors). So, if there’s one takeaway about my experience so far, it’s yes – becoming an officer certainly has been rewarding, and has made SP feel much more like a home to me.

Apply online at http://s-p.mit.edu/apply! The application for committee chair positions are open until April 11th and the application for hall councilor positions is open until April 15th!